yeah...don't kid yourself >> the system has failed me al jazeera. al >> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, welcome to the newshour. i'm laura kyle in doha with the top stories on al jazeera. separatists in eastern ukraine say they'll swap international observers for prisoners in kiev. afghanistan's election commission says the presidential race will go to a second-round run-off. >> i'm in london with more news from europe, includiing tens of

thousands of pilgrims gather at the vatican ahead of a ceremony to declare two new saints. and remembering those from tena men square. a new museum opens in hong kong. pro-russia gunmen holding a group of international observers captive in ukraine say they are willing to carry out a prisoner swap. the self-proclaimed separatist leader in slovyansk says he'll trade the international observers for kiev political prisoners. eight observers have been missing for 24 hours. they are held behind he is barricades in a building. russia says it will do all it can to secure their release. moscow has been accused of

coordinating the kidnapping european leaders will meet on monday to discuss sanctions against russia and accuse moscow of making little effort to persuade groups in the east to disarm. now for the latest from barnaby phillips in donetsk in eastern ukraine. we have been hearing from the separatist leader in slovyansk. what has he been saying about the moves? >> this is a man who appointed himself, effectively, the mayor of the town of slovyansk a couple of weeks ago. he is firmly under groups who are pro-russian - if we can call them that. he is talking about the possibility of some sort of exchange with prisoners taken by the government in kiev, in the eastern region, and whom we

believe are in kiev itself. he's saying there could about a quid pro quo and this is what he said. >> translation: it was not our plan to take prisoners for a swap. you under that prisoners have been coins to exchange during times of war. it's an international practice to swap prisoners. there's nothing scary about it. >> you're in donetsk, an urban area. what is life like there, amid the turmoil. >> well, for most people it's a time of anxiety. it's unclear what will happen. they are trying to get on with their normal lives. if you go across the city, you'll see for the most part things are carrying on as normal - indeed, in other towns and cities.

there are flashpoints, there are government buildings often in a dozen towns taken over by pro-russian groups. they are armed, hide their faces and erect barricades of the kind you see. when you drive through the country side it's strange, you pass a separatist roadblock, you come on a little way and find a ukrainian army road block, you drive on and there's a separatist roadblock again. in the midst. i think the vast majority of people are dissatisfied with the drift, the way the country is going in the east. concerned about the economic situation, but keeping their heads down and opinions to themselves. >> barnaby phillips live from eastern ukraine. thank you very much. moving to afghanistan, and the election commission confirmed there'll be a run off photo between former foreign minister abdullah abdullah, and

ashraf ghani. the state is set for a second-round ballot. abdullah abdullah, the front runner, is calling for an investigation into fraud. stefanie dekker has the details. >> we are satisfied with the result. >> reporter: there is not a new president yet. he will be chosen from one of two men. former minister abdullah abdullah came first with 44.9% of the vote, just missing out on the 50% needed to win outright. he'll face a run-off with a former world bank economist ashraf ghani, in second had 41.5% of the ballot. not everyone thinks a second round is a good idea. >> translation: the election problems affected the economy for the past several months. business has gone down. it's not good to have a second round. people will not come out to the vote because they are afraid. >> translation: it's normal if a

candidate doesn't win in the first round we should go to a second round. we want it to be fair and transparent. >> there has been complaints of fraud. hundreds of thousands of votes are being investigated by the independent electoral commission. >> there are irregularities in the way the commission handled itself and we have been calling on them to make sure transparency is increased for candidates to accept the results of the count. >> abdullah abdullah believes most of the ballots expected to be tampered with respect cast in his favour. many say a run-off between the two men is inevitable was they don't think the results will give abdullah abdullah a win. the challenge is to prepare the county where security is concerned for another round of elections at another huge financial cost. staying in afghanistan - 180

people have been killed in flooding caused by three days of heavy rain. thousands have been forced from their homes. snifors are in -- survivors are in need of medicine and drinking water. many say they received no help from the government. five n.a.t.o. soldiers have been culled in a helicopter -- killed in a helicopter crash in southern afghanistan, in kandahar province. it's understood it came down because of a technical fault. the crash is being investigated. at least 15 people have been kld in a series of -- killed in a series of sectarian attacks in baghdad. the killings came after bombings at a shia political rally killed at least 37 people. al qaeda-linked group islamic state of iraq and levant says it was behind that attack. and said an event for the asaad

allal-hack movement before the election. they are accused of carrying out attacks in southern syria. it will be an issue when iraqis go to the polls. many wonder if the police are up to the challenge of protecting the capital - not just for the vote, but for the long term. imran khan reports. >> reporter: this is baghdad operations command, as the name suggests they are responsible for baghdad's security. cameras are rarely allowed into this - the nerve center controlling the movements of the troops on the ground. as the election gets closer they realise there are security concerns. >> the enemy is trying to demoralize us, spreading hatred to prevent iraqis to exercise their democratic right to vote.

stakes are high, we feel we have a concrete plan it guarantee security. >> checkpoints such as this dot the city. you can find them every few kilometres and they are a visable sign. the soldiers understand the threats faced. >> translation: we are the spearhead of the open war on terrorism and are fighting on behalf of the region and iraq and baghdad. the war continues with al qaeda-linked groups and we are confident in the plan to secure the city for elections. >> his confidence is not shared by many. there are attacks across iraq every day. the damage is clear to see, along with people's frustrations with politicians. >> reporter: according to the united nations over 2,700 died as a result of violence in attacks like these since the year began. that grim statistic will likely have an impact on people as they

visit the polling booths come april 30th. more to come - including egypt announcing its first case on the deadly mirs virus that has killed dozens in saudi arabia. and the performance - introducing inmates to the arts led to the criticism of this pakistani gaol. and in sport - can interim boss ryan giggs inspire his team. details coming up. . >> hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are gathering in vatican city ahead of a ceremony taking place on sunday. more from felicity barr from our

broadcast center in london. >> yes, they are preparing for a double canonisation ceremony, pope francis will declare john paul ii and john xxiii saints. we have more from vatican city belles belles. >> reporter: two popes honoured to state hood. in st peter's square and around the world the faithful will bear witness in their billions. among them will be this woman, a woman whose recovering from a fatal brain aneurysm eight years ago is considered one of two miracles qualifying pope john paul ii to sainthood. >> i heard a voice say "get up, don't be afraid", my eyes were

fixed on a picture of john paul ii, his hand were raised. it indicated for me to get up. i got up saying "yes, sir", that was my response. >> it happened in costa rica as she watched the late pope's beautification. her family were waiting for her to die. >> reporter: john paul ii was responsible for two miracles john xxii just one. to pilgrims, both lay popes are men of great holliness. the legacy of the john paul ii causes some to question. giovanni is a former catholic priest asked to give evidence to the priest investigating the possibility of john paul ii's

connonisation. they did not ask him back. >> translation: in the past i expressed my view that the process has been accelerated in a significant way and consequently they have not vetted the characters. >> survivors of sexual abuse agree, the polish pope they say should have done more to stop it. >> i think it's disappointing that the catholic church officials are making pope john paul ii a saint because he was involved in covering up sex crimes. we don't believe that is saintly behaviour. >> that view will not be widely heard on sunday. a man has died and five others hurt after a residential building collapsed in vienna in an apparent explosion. the cause of the blast is still being vetted. but witnesses say they heard a

dull thud before the top two floors of the building collapsed. mrs. in berlin -- police in berlin clashed with a group of protesters organising a march of the democratic party. demonstrators throw stones and fire works. several police were injured. russia is considering a ban on foreign medical equipment was it faces bans. 80% of medical supplies are thought to be imported. there is concern a ban will deprive patients of life-saving equipment. >> reporter: it is a world-class children's cancer facility, the federal research center of paediatric oncology. known as dima's hospital, named after a 10-year-old boy, who invited vladimir putin to tea and pancakes in 2005. showing him around his crowded ward, he asked his president

when they could have their own hospital. six years later the facility opened its doors. dimia died of leukaemia by then and the hospital was named after him. it has state of the art equipment, virtually all imported from abroad. not for much longer. in floating the proposal to ban the import of the foreign sophisticated technology, the russian government believes it will spur on the do. of its open medical science industry in the face of future sanctions down the road. what of the immediate effect of the patients deprived of the technology ensuring their survival? >> people giving blood at the hospital had misgivings. >> translation: i'm not against guying from russian medical companies, but only if we have high quality equipment in production. that will take some time.

in 2013, much money spent on medical equipment went abroad. >> translation: i think the proposal of adopting a map on foreign medical equipment from the commerce and industry came directly from the need to respond to sanctions. the officials heard something and decided to protect the industry and showed they could react quickly. >> at a landmark hotel, representatives from russia's home grown medal technology industries were meeting, with a positive outlook. >> translation: if it is introduced suddenly, there'll be delays. the swiss change from importers to mass producers is economic. the right equipment will be made. in my opinion the patients will not notice. >> at the hospital they have an 80% success rate in treating the children. parents with youngsters with cancer will hope that the

encouraging statistics will be met by home-grown suppliers in a new, untried medical industry. back with more from europe later in the newshour. back to laura in doha. thank you very much. see you later. palestine president mahmoud abbas says he's open to restarting the peace process with israel. israel suspended u.s.-backed talks an fatah agreed to form a unity government with rival palestine faction hamas. we have more from ramallah. >> reporter: the 26th session of the plo central council started their first session, the first since july 2011, kicked off with president mahmoud abbas giving a speech to clarify what the meeting is about. in the next few days they'll focus on the reconciliation agreement between the p l.a. and ham a and the -- hamas, and the

stalled talks with the israelis. he said primarily it was the israelis fault the talks were going nowhere. >> translation: what we have noticed these days, and the talks of these days stressed that the israelis do not want a wise reasonable 2-state solution living together in stability and security. >> we do expect minor policy decision, some factions, including hamas are not in attendance. the syrian army had a victory west of damascus. opposition fighters have surrendered after intense fighting. it was their last major stronghold along the border. zeina khodr explains. >> reporter: the syrian i suppose lost their last stronghold west of damascus.

pictures were broadcast of dozens of opposition fighters handing themselves over to the syrian authorities. >> translation: the fighters were forced to accept the truce. supply lines were cut. there was no lines for civilians. the army sealed off one side and the militias the other. >> it lies in a region along the lebanon border. fighters with lebanon and the shia movement supported the army. they took control of other up tos and cities over the -- other towns and cities obvious the past few weeks and has control over the highway to a strip along the coast. bashar al-assad, the syrian president, visited a recaptured village. >> translation: there is no nation that face what you face. your unity defended the -- your

military defended the country. the victory will be recorded in history. >> syrian state tv showed pictures of opposition fighters abandoning and joining the reconciliation process. state media says 500 men vennedered in march. >> reporter: some in the opposition call the men traitors, at the same time there are those that say the fighters are disillusioned. the opposition is in disarray. they receive little support and the moderate groups are outnumbered and gunned by the extremist groups. it is not just that. >> the government is on an offensive. other areas on the doorstep of the capital have been under bombardment. the push is seen as part of bashar al-assad's campaign to be re-elected in june. recent gains, recaptured territory and pictures like these are designed to strengthen the government before the

elections. see jp investigators -- south korean investigators arrested the remaining four crew members of a passenger ferry that sank last week. all 15 crew are in custody, accused of negligence and failing to help passengers when the ferry began to take on water. 300 are dead or missing. the captain is accused of telling passengers to stay in their rooms and failing to give the order to evacuate in time. u.s. president barack obama arrived in malaysia on the third leg of his asian tour, the first american leader to visit the country. his visit aims to rebalance u.s. takens to strategic asia pacific region and push a regional trade agreement. a large antinuclear demonstration has been held in taiwan. up to 200 showed up to protest to plans to build a nuclear reactor. it will be the island's forth

nuclear power plant. >> the first museum dedicated to the teen men square protests opened in hong kong. >> reporter: with a copy of china's newspaper stated 29 years ago the museum is declared open. it's designed and take the visitor to the event leading to the june 4th nth crack done by the military in which student protesters were killed. it's one of the smallest museums. organizers expect it to have a big impact. >> we are targetting the younger generation born after the june 4th mass anger, so they can experience what we experienced - knock, despair and hope at that time brought about by the movement. >> the group behind the museum

is made up of lawmakers and pro-democracy activists, forming to help fund the students' movement. with the model of tenaman square it's hoped to educate the mapp laiders. mainlanders are un aware because reference to it is banned. this woman says the exhibition shows one side of the story and people want to move on. >> the tina man square incident is created by history. >> some of those that shared her views gathered on the street. >> reporter: the museum is in the middle of this alley of the fifth floor of this building.

it's creating a lot of noise on its opening day, in a confrontation between supporters and detractors. >> the commotion and press drew attention to the museum, but could jeopardise its existence. it ends, but you may have to find a new home soon. the building's owner is threatening legal action saying the museum will be disrupted. pakistani prison is being criticised for offering arts and education classes to its inmates. officials at the karachi gaol defended the programme saying it improved the behaviour of the prisoners. we spoke to the men about how art is turning around their lives [ singing ] >> reporter: it may be a song of sorrow. inmates at the karachi central gaol say this is the happiest

part of their day. for one hour every after into it gathered to sipping and play -- sing and play musical instruments, part of a programme to introduce prisoners to the arts as part of their rehabilitation. mansour has been here for 10 months, awaiting trial for murder. >> what you want is some way to express yourself. it's basically meeting people who are like-minded making it that much for bearable. it's not just music. inmatesar taught how to draw and paint. some have had work displayed in high-end galleries. the aim is to teach prisoners to channel their energies. and to provide a stage to express their emotions. >> reporter: not everyone supports programs like these. critics say prisoners serving long sentences are not here to enjoy themselves, but to repay their debt to society.

>> critics like this well-known artist. he campaigned against the arts and music programme at the carr axy central -- karachi central gaol, saying the prisoners are there to do hard time not enjoy the art. >> translation: i have been to the prison, they are criminals, they can not be rehabilitate by programs. the point of gaol is for it to be so bad that when they get out they never want to get out. >> inmates like mansour disagrees, saying without his daily music lessons, he wouldn't cope. >> what prisoners want to believe is the world at large has not forgotten them. in return they care a bit about the world and think about their own mistakes. >> a hopeful perspective from a place which traditionally offered a narrow one. still to come on the newshour - it's africa's biggest

economy, but nigeria is missing out on billions in tax revenue. we'll tell you why. and in sport - he's back in the pool. what made michael phelps swim the wrong stroke in a race in arizona.

hello again. the top stories this al jazeera newshour - pro-russia gunmen holding a group of international observers captive in ukraine are willing to carry out a prisoner swap. 8 o.s.c.e. monitors have been missing for 24 hours. talks will be held on the crisis on monday. >> afghanistan's election commission says the presidential vote will go to a second round. the run-off will be between abdullah abdullah and ashraf ghani, an ex-world bank official. 15 die in an apparent murder in baghdad, days after bombings at a shia rally killed at least

37 people. egypt discovered its first case of the middle east respiratory syndrome or mirs. a 27-year-old man arriving from saudi arabia tested positive for the deadly virus. mirs killed 92 people in saudi arabia, where the corona virus was detected in 2012. joining us now is dr bart hardwens working in the department of vir u science in rot are dam in the netherlands. first of all, can you give us an idea of what is the corona virus and why a spike in numbers? >> so this is a virus that causes a lower res fir atry infection in humans that can be fatal. an identical virus has been found in camels, suggesting that there's a transmission from the camel to humans, and that's why

we see the virus out in the middle east. on the other hand the virus could be transmitted from human to human. in some cases patients are in hospitals where others gather. so then human to human transmission can lead to a cluster of more patients. that's what we see, i think, at the moment. in jedda we have seen an increase in the number of cases probably related by this increase of transmission from human to human in the hospital setting. >> that is a worrying development, isn't it, especially when one looks later on this year we have ramadan, harge in july and october. millions of pilgrims will descend on saudi arabia. >> yes, we need to understand the transmission of the virus not only from the camel to human, but human to human, and

in the hospital setting. it's important that this case of the increase of cases in jedda is vetted in detail -- investigated in detail. we know what ways to think of to prevent the infection from human to human and camel to human. >> why do we know so little about the virus, two years after it was first discovered. >> so the main question is where the virus came from. it took some time to get the proper samples and find where the virus is coming from. relatively there are are few cases at the moment, so it's difficult to obtain as efficient data relative to the outbreak at the moment. >> thank you very much for joining us there from the netherlands, and shedding light on a little-known virus that is spreading quickly. thank you. >> thank you.

former yewing sloef republic of masa dopia will -- macedonia will hold presidential elections. and other news from london. yes, the incumbent party the macedonian internal unity party is tipped to win the polls. after eight years in power opponents say it's corrupt and lacks vision. we have this report. >> reporter: this town marches to the beat of the ruling party. they turned its back on the liberal democrats after they shut down ageing factories. >> they embraced the party of the incumbent president. >> a lot of people were left without a job. >> he is among supporters. this is an out of work english

teacher and noticed that the party faithful get jobs, many at free trade jones hike this one -- trade firms like this one. touting this prosperity, large-scale construction of museums and government buildings is under way in the capital. their budget is shrouded in mystery. >> reporter: not everywhere is happy with the model. unemployment is at 28% income at a third of the average of the money september from overseas is a fifth of the economy. this man headed the privatisation programme and says it did not amount to a true liberalisation. >> we are going in the wrong destruction considering that the government is paying tanks on how to control as much of the business. employment is connected with the government.

possibilities of the growing development investments, everything, depends on government. >> social democrat challenges say the vmro has been in government too long. he is not the likely winner. it could ultimately pay off and the separation of money and the state may have to wait. thousands are gathered in stratford upon avon in england to celebrate the 450th birthday of william shakespeare. emma haywood is there, and september this report. >> reporter: on the stratford streets he used to roam, a pageant fit for a literary icon. thousands revelling in the work of shaucks , marking -- william shakespeare, marking 450 years since he was born. from the music of the marrist

man to a cake carried by horses, shakespeare's followers put on a good show here. this is a town this thrives on the memory of william shakespeare. his birthday is an opportunity for them to come out and celebrate his work. >> shakespeare's ink runs through the up to. >> when we see, it's whole some days. the truish issue by thrones. >> his appeal stretches behind britain. [ speaking foreign language ] . >> the young like to get in on the act. >> shall i compare thee to a summer's day... >> during his lifetime, shakespeare wrote 37 play and more than 150 poems. critics sometimes questioned his rise to prominence over his

peers. few have managed to gain his stature for such a long time. >> people ask if shakespeare is relevant. i say, you know, if love is still relevant, if joy is still relevant, and politics, war, grief, ambitious are still things people feel, shakespeare will always by relevant. the bard's future appears in safe hands with the next generation of followers already learning his language. i spoke to george mcmullen and english professor in london. i asked how relevant shakespeare's work is today. >> it continues to have appeal to all generations around the world. they company with issues of life, death, family, politics, the world.

shakespeare in his time were the writing for a theatre company. played in a small indoor theatre, and replied at court. he was writing plays designed for a wide social range. i suppose that comes through now. >> his language and expressions are used in every day english, like heart of gold, banishing into thin air. how easy is it to france late into other language. >> it translates beautifully. i was thinking about this when we heard about the death and how "100 years of solitude" have been. mexicans say, "no, read it in its original." the same is true of shakespeare. that'st it's hard to imagine -- it's hard to imagine how staggering it is after france legs into other -- translation into other languages. thing of a director in a

non-angly phone company makes a decision about which translation to use, a 19th century, an up to date one, one in prose or verse. there's a lot of decisions to make. >> his international appeal is the stories were not always set in england. >> absolutely. in shakespeare's day orange analysty did not think of thinking the story up for yourself. it was taking stories from around the world as he knew it at this point. you could argue that he was a global player. >> how do you think young people react to shakespeare. it was a feared thing in english, you have to learn how to understand what shakespeare is saying.

to people have an understanding and wanting to learn more. >> if my students are anything to go by, they want to learn shakespeare. they have to topt do it, wait to get the chance. there's no question that, i suppose, shakespearean language. the resonance is around. if you do english litter at tur, definitely you want to do shaigs peer. so many post modern writers that you read, use shakespearean ideas and languages. it interweaves into everything. all's well that ends here in europe. back to doha and laura. thank you. now, al jazeera continues to call for the immediate release of its journalists held in egypt. their trial has been adjourned until may the 3rd. they've been in gaol for 119 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel

fahmy, and baher mohamed are falsely accused of providing a platform for the outlawed muslim brotherhood declared a terrorist organization. abdullah al-shami, a fourth journalist in detention, has been held without trial since august. he's been on hunger strike for 96 days. al jazeera demands the immediate release of staff and rejects all charges. >> nigeria is africa's largest scmi but is missing out -- economy but is missing out on billions in tax revenue. the government says it is trying to clamp down on the problem. we have this report from the capital abuja. >> reporter: drivers in abuja get their tanks filled with petrol that travel many kilometres. it's produced locally, exported for refining and reimported for sale to the nigerian public. nigeria lacks the capacity to extract and export two and a half billion barrels a day.

it needs investors. when some come, they underreport the amounts produced and profits made in a trend called mispricing. the enormity of the problem forced nigeria and other african countries to seek help. >> it's a challenge resulting in illicit challenges on the continent. sometimes when you have natural resources, you know some of the natural resources contracts and the way they are shaped also allows room for some of these things to happen. >> this is how some companies do it. if the price of oil is $100, a multinational company may sell it at artificially low price of $60 to a tax haven like lichtenstein. the company declares little profit and pays low faxes in nigeria. it then sells the oil to a third party in the united states at the true market value. the profit stays in the tax

haven and nining loses -- nigeria losses out on tax revenue it's owed. >> before we were getting so much tax - sorry, so much concessions and declare profit. ultimately it affects our development. >> activists blame poor enforcement. tax authorities say that is about to change. >> yes, in the past we take the prices given to us hook, line and sinker. we do not go back to staff saying "this is not right." going forward we are looking at the principal application as it plies. >> in this case to make sure o front r front is not used -- frond is not used to hide income. >> reporter: the company has no business being boar if taxes are collected.

many businesses don't pay. most do not see the need to do so when a bribe can save you a lot. >> it is this attitude and the illicit financial dealings of big business that experts say is preventing growth. it's furthering a population with 2% is living on $2 a day. more to come on the newshour, including from library books to ipads. we meet children making a switch in the classroom. >> world player of the year correspond is up to his old tricksment the latest from real madrid's

to the yates where some schools are making the transition from textbook to tablet. the move is not as simple as the click of a but job. christen sallamy has more from the first school to make the move in white plains, new york. >> reporter: the method for solving a loggar its mick equation has not changed. how students learn the lesson, it has. >> turn to 463. you see the richter scale. >> instead of thumbing through a textbook, they turn on the laptops and tablets. >> they have one portal for all the high school-level books. >> all the private school textbooks are digital and

available online. with the added bonuses of tutorials and videos complimenting lessons. >> they see the online videos and homework help sessions and can access supplements which are at your fingertips. they don't have to search for them. >> that means every student must bear the cost of purchasing a computer. the cost of books has gone down from $600 a year to $150. for the school it meant investing $1 million to improve infrastructure, a cost that is harder for school systems to handle. . >> reporter: the school has an old-fashioned library. fewer and fewer are going home with the students these days. technology is changing not only the way students access information and the way teachers teach, but what they teach. >> with so many facts at students' fingertips teachers can focus on analysing

information and creative thinking. >> the challenge is about helping kids become excellent thinkers. systems analysts, accessing information and figure out what it means and how to use it to make positive change for themselves and the world in which they live. >> look up all the information we have. >> the school blocks the internet so students will not be termed by social media and others in class. for the tech-savvy generation, it's a natural transition. >> everything is organised. all the books is in one library and tablet. >> forgetting your book is no longer an excuse. >> homework is online. the only excuse is "i didn't do it." >> at the end of the day fewer books to bring home makes for a lighter backpack with all the information a student needs - still a click away. let's get the latest sport.

>> thank you. football first, real madrid have a chance to close the gap on athletica. they are in action. all the league games in spain. there was a minute's silence as a tribute to tito vilanova, former barcelona coach. he died on friday. once the game got underway it didn't take long for cristiano ronaldo to make his mark. villa real play on sunday. on saturday a new camp was a focus as the camp grieved tito vilanova, passing away on friday aged 45. sara coates reports rmpingts barcelona's first team should be getting together ahead of an important league game on sunday. instead, they are united in grief for their former coach tito vilanova who died on friday

night aged just 45, after a long battle with throat cancer. tito vilanova's time at barcelona, as an assistant and head coach coincided with one of the most successful periods in history. his illness meant he was the manager for just an until season. >> tito vilanova was somebody that was a very responsible, with a lot of energy. we have to take his energy that he had always, and go and advance, continue, because we have to continue and take care of what we learnt from him, and we have to - all we learn from him, we have to use it for the future of the club. >> translation: it is a hard time. two years of fight and tito vilanova has been an example for all of us. he fought until the last day, the last moment, with strength and energy. he cheered us on and urged us to fight every day. he was very important to us.

today is a sad day. now we have to be by his family's side. >> tito vilanova became an assistant in 2008. the pair guiding the club to 14 trophies in four seasons. tito vilanova took over as coach in 2012. barca wept on to make -- went on to make their best ever start to a season with 18 wins from their first 19 games. in december of that year he was diagnosed with cancer for a second time and had to temporarily step down. he returned in time to see his side win the league with a record points haul before announcing he was leaving the job to concentrate on his treatment. >> this team showed they are capable of winning more than anyone can imagine. 14 titles and tooet scro's last

year -- tito vilanova's record year. they are capable of overcoming blows, but things look tough. >> a relatively disappointing season on the pitch is being made to look all but irrelevant. >> manchester united has dismissed reports ta a deal has been done to make dutch coach louie van hall their manager. ryan gigs, current interim manager, made a winning start, beating norwich in the english premier league on saturday. giggs took over for the final four games of the season. wayne rooney scoring the first goal of the giggs era with a first-half penalty, making it 2-0. a couple of goals making the final score 4-0. relegation threaten fulham. they threw away a 2-goal lead at home. everton suffered a setback in an effort to qualify for the

champion's league. beaten 2-0 by southampton. football's governing body expects an investigation into how the russia and qatar world cups were voted. f.i.f.a.'s secretary-general was talking whilst overseeing lasts-minute preparations ahead of the world cup in braz im. f.i.f.a.'s ethics committee is examining allegations of corruption in relation to the awarding of the nest two tournaments. >> i think it should come now, we should have a time, final position and the best would be before the world cup in 2014, that we can move and work on the next world cup. >> michael phelps's comeback meet finished earlier than expected. the 18-time olympic champion missed out on qualifying for the 50 metre freestyle final. the 28-year-old's comeback was cut short using this heat to fine tune his beautiful speed and stroke rather than racing

freestyle. he finished seventh, ending his first swim meet since retiring after the 2012 olympics. >> it's a good starting point being able to get some races under my belt. and like bob said, the schedule that was today was not really ideal for what i should swim at this very moment. >> the houston rockets claimed game 3 of the first round western conference play-off, outlasting the trailblazers. port land trailing by 11 points. damien produced this lay-up sendinged the game into -- sending the game into overtime. troy daniels scored a three point, rockets winning, but trailing 2-1 down in the series. >> n.h.l. play-offs are fiercely contested. this season underhand tactics appear to be at play.

this incident between the anaheim ducks. feeling the pain here. dallas's ryan gar but hit with a penalty. >> maria sharapova on course for a third-straight title in stuttgart. the world number one brushing aside her ilialian opponent in 59 minutes, winning 6-1, 6-2 to set up a clash with evana yanka vich. >> the fourth seed beat ninth seed from latvia in straight sets and will looking for his fifth title. he takes on nicolas almagro in the final, after he defeated

rafael nadal in the other semifinal. golf, alexander levy kept his leave at the china open. the frenchman with a 4-shot lead. despite a couple of drop shots he closed on 2-under par for the day. putting him three shots clear of spain's algara kiros. boxing heavy weight vitaly klitschko is favourite to win a title bout. he has not been knocked down in nine years or lost a fight in a decade. australia former rugby league player and prison inmate says he will have to rip his heart out to beat him. can't wait for that. >> that's sport. stay with us on al jazeera. that's it for us in doha. london has a full bulletin of

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>> next on al jazeera america presents... >> the catholic church of the 21st century is a global financial power. the pope might just be one of the biggest landloards in the world. the church is now spending heavily on political lobbyists. >> 21% of the dioceses told us that they never audit their parishes. we found that 85% of the dioceses had experienced an embezzlement in recent years, many more than one.